Workers of lawlessness – Part 4

04/01/2009

 

False prophets

(The terms prophet and prophetic movement used in this article  do not necessarily relate to everyone. There are true prophets and those who operate in prophetic gifts who are true to their calling and walk in obedience to God’s commands )

Lamentations 2:14 -The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.

Matthew 7:15, 16 -Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?

Matthew 24: 24 -For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.

I John 4:1, 2(read verse 3 also)- Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

From the scriptures mentioned above we’ll lay a foundation as to what constitutes a false prophet.

1) The inability to identify and confront sin (Lamentations 2:14).

The basic role of a prophet in the Old Testament was to identify and confront sin. This role hasn’t changed in the New Testament also. In the New Testament, John the Baptist confronted sin. Jesus prophesied against cities that didn’t receive Him. He rebuked sin in the Pharisees. John’s prophecies to the seven churches exposed sin with rebuke in Revelations. The apostles fulfilling their prophetic roles also confronted sin at different times.

The important question that needs to be asked in this context is, how far are we confronting sin today? Sadly this lack has led to the increase in lawlessness in the church.

Lamentation says that the visions of the prophets were false because they failed to expose sin which would have set the people free from  captivity. If the church which is struggling today, is to free herself from the captivity that she is bound with, then the prophets need to step into their shoes and confront the sin that led to it in the first place.

2) False prophets bear false fruits (Matthew 7:15, 16).

One of the characteristics of false prophets is that they don’t have the fruit of the Spirit. Today many equate fruits with signs and wonders. On the contrary if we read Matthew 7 in context, Jesus rebukes those who operated in signs and wonders but did not do His will. He calls them workers of lawlessness. So signs and wonders are not the fruit that we should be looking for to determine the validity of a ministry.

As a matter of fact in the end times false prophets would do great signs and wonders and if possible deceive even the elect (Matthew 24:24). The fruit that needs to be on display  is the fruit of the Spirit (Read I Corinthians 13 ).

Fruit (that determines true and false) is not even based on how accurate one’s prophesies are although it is very important. This is not to make light of false prophecies or ignore consistent false prophecies. However it is to establish the point that God is more concerned about a person’s character than gifting.

Balaam prophesied almost two chapters in the Bible accurately but ended up being called a false prophet by Peter (II Peter 2:1,15,16).

Just as Isaiah saw God in His holiness that led to a renewed conviction and cleansing, we need that kind of revelation more than ever in our lives and especially in the prophetic movement!

3) Is the testimony of Jesus Christ, His life and teachings missing in a ministry?

A notable minister, recently made a statement that God wanted him to talk on angels and not Christ. If Christ is not the essence of whatever we do, it gives room to the spirit of antichrist.

If someone mentions the name “Christ”, that does not simply mean everything is fine also. On the contrary it is not so. It goes beyond that. The question that needs to be asked is, ‘Is the Christ that is being taught similar to the one in the gospels?’

It is the role of the prophets to ensure that Christ is being presented correctly as revealed in scriptures.
If Christ’s life and teachings aren’t central to any ministry then the foundations are in serious error and the enemy will gain access into them easily. We need to get back to the basics and start building all over again if our foundations aren’t right. We know Christ is central in our lives when we start to walk like He did.

In concluding these thoughts, if while reading this article  we were convicted, then let us repent and ask God to change us. If it reminded us of someone else, then let us intercede for them according to God’s will.